The present invention relates to a medicament for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of restenosis and arterial sclerosis after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, which contains batroxobin as an effective component.
It has been considered that intima pachymenia in the wall of blood vessel after the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty which has been extended as a method for treating of arteriosclerotic intima pachymenia, myocardial infarction and angina pectoris is caused by endotherial injury of blood vessel, and it has been reported that intima pachymenia will be formed in such a process that smooth muscle cell wanders from media of blood vessel and repeats its proliferation in the intima.
However, this phenomenon has hardly been elucidated physiologically and pharmacologically. Although it has been known that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has an action for accelerating wandering of smooth muscle cell and its proliferation, there are no reports confirming that only the factor is directly involved in arteriosclerotic intima pachymenia or re-pachymenia after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.
Thus, there has not been found such a medicament and a method for treating intima pachymenia in the wall of blood vessel after the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty which has been extended as a method for treating of arteriosclerotic intima pachymenia, myocardial infarction and angina pectoris.
According to recent reports, the number of the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty conducted in Japan, for example PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) is reported to be about 35,000, and the incidence of restenosis caused by intima pachymenia in the wall of blood vessel after the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is to be from 20% to 50%. Hence, it is very important subjects to develop a medicament for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of the restenosis.
The inventors of this invention have conducted various studies to develop the medicament for treatment and/or prophylaxis of intima pachymenia in the wall of blood vessel by the use of an animal model. As a result, the inventors have found out that intima pachymenia in the wall of blood vessel can remarkably be inhibited by administering an effective amount of batroxobin.